Editing Nevada (section)

==Etymology==
The name "Nevada" comes from the Spanish adjective {{Lang|es|nevada}} ({{IPA|es|neˈβaða|}}), meaning "snowy" or "snow-covered".<ref>{{cite web |title=Nevada |url=http://www.wordreference.com/es/en/translation.asp?spen=nevada |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071225103913/http://www.wordreference.com/es/en/translation.asp?spen=nevada |archive-date=December 25, 2007 |access-date=February 24, 2007 |publisher=[[WordReference.com]]}}</ref> The state takes its name from the [[Nevada Territory]], which in turn was named for the [[Sierra Nevada]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nevada |url=https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=Nevada |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901115959/https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=Nevada |archive-date=September 1, 2021 |access-date=September 1, 2021 |website=Online Etymology Dictionary}}</ref>

Nevadans pronounce the second syllable with the "a" of "apple" ({{IPAc-en|n|ə|ˈ|v|æ|d|ə}}) while some people from outside of the state pronounce it with the "a" of "palm" ({{IPAc-en|n|ə|ˈ|v|ɑː|d|ə}}).<ref>{{cite web |author=McCabe |first=Francis |date=October 18, 2018 |title=You Say Nevada, I Say Nevada… |url=https://www.unlv.edu/news/article/you-say-nevada-i-say-nevada |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801193302/https://www.unlv.edu/news/article/you-say-nevada-i-say-nevada |archive-date=August 1, 2019 |access-date=November 26, 2019 |website=[[University of Nevada, Las Vegas]]}}</ref> Although the [[Vowel#Articulation|quality]], but not the [[Vowel length|length]], of the latter pronunciation is closer to the Spanish pronunciation (Spanish {{IPA|/a/}} is [[Open central unrounded vowel|open central]] {{IPA|[ä]}},<ref>{{Citation|last1=Ladefoged|first1=Peter|last2=Johnson|first2=Keith|author-link=Peter Ladefoged|year=2010|title=A Course in Phonetics|edition=6th|publisher=Wadsworth Publishing|place=Boston, Massachusetts|page=227|isbn=978-1-4282-3126-9}}</ref> whereas American English {{IPA|/ɑː/}} varies from [[Open back unrounded vowel|back]] {{IPA|[ɑː]}} to central {{IPA|[äː]}}),<ref>{{Accents of English|hide1=y|hide2=y}}. Page 476.</ref> it is not the pronunciation used by Nevadans. State Assemblyman [[Harry Mortenson]] proposed a bill to recognize the alternative pronunciation of Nevada,<ref>{{cite news|first=Guy |last=Clifton |url=http://www.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20108220380|title=You heard it right: Bill would let them say Ne-VAH-da|date=August 22, 2010|newspaper=[[Reno Gazette-Journal]]}}</ref> though the bill was not supported by most legislators and never received a vote. The Nevadan pronunciation is the one used by the state legislature. At one time, the state's official tourism organization, TravelNevada, stylized the name of the state as "Nevăda", with a [[breve]] over the ''a'' indicating the locally preferred pronunciation,<ref>{{cite web |title=Nevada: A World Within. A State Apart. &#124; Nevada Travel & Tourism |url=http://travelnevada.com/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131229064306/http://travelnevada.com/ |archive-date=December 29, 2013 |access-date=October 7, 2016 |publisher=Travel Nevada}}</ref> which was also available as a license plate design until 2007.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nevada Tourism License Plate |url=https://dmvnv.com/images/tourism.jpg |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703071346/https://dmvnv.com/images/tourism.jpg |archive-date=July 3, 2019 |access-date=July 3, 2019 |website=[[Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles]]}}</ref>